First 2020 debate erupts into a fiery shouting match on immigration in wake of father and daughter's border deaths - and candidates compete to speak in Spanish - as Trump tweets 'BORING!'
- The Democratic party held the first half of its first debate Wednesday night in Miami, Florida
- Participating in the debate are 2020 presidential candidates Bill de Blasio, Tim Ryan, Julian Castro, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee and John Delaney
- The debate kicked off with candidates leaping on Donald Trump's economy, arguing they have stronger plans despite 71 percent of Americans saying they like the nation's economic position
- The candidates also delivered impassioned responses when asked about immigration policy
- About halfway through technical glitches drove the NBC broadcast to premature commercial breaks
Immigration politics exploded to the front-burner of the Democratic primary process on Wednesday as presidential hopefuls took turns blasting President Trump in the wake of the deaths of a Salvadoran man and his two-year-old daughter, drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande.
'It's heartbreaking. It should also p**s us all off,' said former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro during the first primary debate of the 2020 election season.
Castro called for a change in federal law that would no longer 'criminalize desperation' by reclassifying border-jumping as a civil infraction instead of a crime.
Ohio Rep Tim Ryan blasted the Trump administration for presiding over a longstanding but deteriorating system that houses children separately from the adults who bring them into the US.
'What kind of a country are we running here?' he asked, claiming that 'we've got kids literally laying in their own snot with three-week-old diapers that haven't been changed.'
Wednesday's debate was the most bilingual in American history, with three candidates speaking Spanish on stage.
Former Texas Rep Beto O'Rourke gave his first answer that way, befuddling much of the TV audience and drawing a side-eye look from New Jersey Sen Cory Booker – who later joined in the Español himself.
'I'm nowhere near fluent, but I'm conversational,' Booker said in an MSNBC interview after the debate. 'I can do interviews. We should do more of that.'
By shifting languages, O'Rourke managed to avoid answering a question about how high the nation's top income tax rate should rise.
Debate co-moderator José Diaz-Balart asked O'Rourke one question about the border in both Spanish and English.
Castro limited his Spanish to a single line in his closing statement: Despite being the only Latino on the stage, he isn't a fluent Spanish speaker.
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The Democratic party held the first half of its first debate Wednesday night in Miami, Florida. Pictured are 2020 presidential candidates Bill de Blasio, Tim Ryan, Julian Castro, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee and John Delaney
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and former US Representative for Texas' 16th congressional district Beto O'Rourke greet the crowd at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
O'Rourke (left) used his first opportunity at the microphone to deliver a message in Spanish, befuddling most of his competitors and a majority of the television audience. Later on, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro (right) said of the immigration crisis: 'It's heartbreaking. It should also p**s us all off'
Democrats are trying to capitalize on the Miami debate's power to draw a Hispanic audience. US Census data suggest that about one in eight people living in the United States speak Spanish at home.
Those numbers jump to nearly one in three for people living in California, Texas and Florida.
Marianne Williamson, a long-shot candidate scheduled to be on stage Thursday night, joked on Twitter that she must learn to speak Spanish in the next 24 hours.
TV viewers were enraged by technical glitches that drove the NBC broadcast to premature commercial breaks as microphones in the control room were switched on while moderators asked questions about gun control.
President Donald Trump, soaring above the Arctic Circle aboard Air Force One, couldn't resist stabbing at one of the TV networks he loves to hate.
'@NBCNews and @MSNBC should be ashamed of themselves for having such a horrible technical breakdown in the middle of the debate,' Trump tweeted. 'Truly unprofessional and only worthy of a FAKE NEWS Organization, which they are!'
President Donald Trump watched the debate from Air Force One, sharing his dissatisfaction on Twitter
The president was a big player on Wednesday, drawing few direct attacks by name.
One came from Washington Gov Jay Inslee, who claimed during a rapid-fire question segment that 'the biggest threat to the security of the United States is Donald Trump.'
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hinted that Trump's soft-glove approach to Moscow presents its own unique dangers.
Russia, he said, is the biggest threat, 'because they're trying to undermine our democracy and they've been doing a pretty damned good job of it and we need to stop them.'
But illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers drove much of the early fireworks.
Booker said he would 'reinstate pathways to citizenship for DACA recipients' and pull back ICE agents from 'creating fear in cities all across this country.'
De Blasio framed America's immigration crisis as a plank in his socialist-leaning platform.
'For all the American citizens out there who feel you're falling behind, who feel the American dream's not working for you, the immigrants didn't do that to you,' he lectured.
'The big corporations did that to you. The "One Percent" did that to you.'
Castro insisted decriminalizing illegal entry into the US should be the Democrats' main measuring stick.
'Your policy would still criminalize a lot of these families,' he told O'Rourke at one point, demanding the repeal of Section 1325 of Title 8 of the US criminal code.
'The reason that they're separating these children from their families is that they're using Sec. 1325 ... which criminalizes coming across the border, to incarcerate the parents and then separate them,' Castro said.
'Some of us on this stage have called to end that section. Some of them, like Congressman O'Rourke, have not. I want to challenge all of the candidates to do that.'
O'Rourke insisted Congress should take a broader look at 'a comprehensive rewrite of our immigration laws' to target drug-runners and human traffickers.
The candidates responded to a photo of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Martinez and his two-year-old daughter Valerie, who drowned while crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico to the US on Sunday
The 2020 presidential election got its first night of controlled chaos with 10 Democratic White House hopefuls squaring off in a debate designed to feature less than half the field
Candidates Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Bill de Blasio, Jay Inslee and John Delaney are seen on stage
Democrats leapt on the Trump economy more broadly, arguing they have stronger plans despite 71 percent of Americans saying they like the nation's economic position.
'Not everyone is sharing in this prosperity, and Donald Trump just sits in the White House and gloats about what's going on when you have so many people that are having trouble affording college and affording their premiums,' Minnesota Sen Amy Klobuchar said.
Reminded that 60 percent of Democrats approve of the economy, Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren snapped: 'Who is this economy really working for?'
'It's doing great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top,' she said, contrasting drug companies with patients and oil companies with Americans who consider climate change a top worry.
'It's corruption, plain and simple,' she said.
Wednesday's political tableau ranged from former Maryland Rep John Delaney's call for a doubling of the Earned Income Tax Credit to de Blasio's more naked socialist overtures.
'There's plenty of money in this country. It's just in the wrong hands,' de Blasio intoned from the edge of the stage where his anemic poll numbers relegated him.
NBC's moderators seemed to tailor a climate change question for Inslee, who has made the issue his campaign's everything.
And the only candidate asked about gay rights was Hawaii Rep Tulsi Gabbard, who began her campaign by apologizing for her teenage advocacy against same-sex marriage.
'Maybe many people in this country can relate to the fact that I grew up in a socially conservative home and I held views when I was young that I no longer hold today,' she said.
'There is no one in our government at any level who has the right to tell any American who they should be allowed to love or who they should be allowed to marry,' Gabbard insisted.
De Blasio and Warren were the only two on Wednesday who raised their hands to signify that they would outlaw private medical insurance as president.
'I'm with Bernie on Medicare For All,' Warren said, complaining that insurers maximize profits at the expense of patient care.
'Health care is a basic human right,' she said.
Moments later Klobuchar's campaign blasted reporters with an email about a 'plan for universal health care' that relies on a Medicare and Medicaid expansion.
O'Rourke insisted union workers who negotiated health plans should be able to keep them. 'Choice is fundamental,' he said.
De Blasio responded in the night's first one-on-one fireworks.
'Private insurance is not working for tens of millions of Americans. When you talk about the copays, the deductibles, the premiums, the out-of-pocket expenses, it's not working!' he barked.
De Blasio downplayed his aggressive stance during the debate when speaking to reporters afterward, saying he was just being a New Yorker.
‘The bottom line in the debate is we're supposed to be sorting out who we are as Democrats,’ he said in the spin room. ‘And we can't be afraid to mix it up. Look, I'm in New Yorker, I have no property being blunt, I have no problem being aggressive. When I heard things I don't think fit the values of this party, I'm going to call them out. And I think if we have the right kind of debates in this party, we will end up a lot stronger. But if we are afraid to have an honest conversation, We're going to have the same results.’
He didn’t answer when asked if his debate performance would help him get a boost in the polls.
‘Look, I feel very good about this debate, I was able to say a lot of things that were blunt and true that the American people want to hear and Democrats want to hear. And I heard too many of my opponents mincing words. I respect them all. But you know, if they're gonna hem and haw, they're not going to impress the American people,’ he said.
Warren stayed above the fray during the debate, not engaging when Castro, de Blasio and O’Rourke went after each other.
She stuck to that strategy talking with reporters afterward.
‘What I’m doing is not criticizing other Democrats, I’m out here laying out my vision. I got plans I know. I’ve got a lot of plans,’ she said.
Former Vice President and front-runner Joe Biden, not on stage, tweeted that he has no intention of eliminating private insurance.
'Let’s be clear: We shouldn’t tear the Affordable Care Act down. We should build on it,' his campaign wrote.
'The Biden Administration will give every American the right to choose a public option like Medicare to ensure everyone has access to the quality, affordable health care they deserve.'
The 2020 presidential election got its first night of controlled chaos with 10 Democratic White House hopefuls squaring off in a debate designed to feature less than half the field.
The prime-time starting gun sounded in Miami with Warren and O'Rourke sharing center stage as the top-polling contenders on the first of two nights of Democrat-on-Democrat combat.
The Republican National Committee was not amused.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Democrats were arguing 'over fringe ideas that are completely out of touch with our values.'
She said 'radical proposals like a government takeover of health care, open borders, no protections for human life, and massive tax hikes' would give President Trump an advantage in 2020.
Thursday night's contingent will be led by Biden and Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders. NBC chose the two groups at random from among the 20 who met its polling and fundraising qualifications.
A strong performance could mean a fundraising windfall or key endorsements as Democratic voters in key early primary and caucus states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina sort serious contenders from historical footnotes.
Only seven of the 25 declared Democratic candidates are averaging better than two percent in national polls, according to an average maintained by Real Clear Politics.
Booker, California Sen Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg also belong to that club.
Moderators Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie and Jose Diaz-Balart chat as the NBC control room fixes an audio glitch
MSNBC moderator Chuck Todd speaks to the audience as issues with the microphones are sorted out
The other 18, especially those who might not qualify for future debates without more fundraising muscle, need to carve out moments tailor-made for viral video in order to convince Americans they're worth exploring.
Biden and President Donald Trump both remained on the sidelines on Wednesday night, looming presences serving as unnamed 11th and 12th debaters.
Wednesday's debate came as Trump jetted to Japan for a G20 leaders summit.
In Alaska for a refueling stop on the way to Osaka the president told a waiting contingent of troops that he preferred to speak to them rather than watching the debate – because they're 'so much smarter.'
President Donald Trump said he planned to watch the debate from Air Force One as he heads to the G-20 Summit in Japan. He is seen greeting troops at Joint Base Elmendorf in Alaska
Before Air Force One left the ground again, he tweeted a one-word status update: 'BORING!'
Trump had said he planned to watch the debate from Air Force One.
'Yes, everyone said I'll be tweeting, I'll actually be on a plane and it just seems very boring, but I'm going to watch it because I have to,' he said during a Fox Business Network interview.
'Do I want to watch it? Do I want to watch these people? That's a very unexciting group of people,' Trump snarked.
Four years ago the president was beginning to emerge from a pack of 17 Republicans, an underdog who confounded his rivals and stole their limelight on a daily basis.
Democrats haven't yet figured out how to wrestle the public's attention back. And even as the nation suffers from varying levels of Trump fatigue, many Democratic voters are just now beginning to pay attention to the battle over who will take him on next year.
Only 35 per cent of registered Democrats say they're paying close attention to the campaign, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.
NBC News said candidates would have 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds for follow-ups. In practice, many kept talking as the moderators protested.
They weren't allowed to give opening statements, and no crib notes were permitted. But as they took their spots behind a row of 10 podiums, many furiously wrote helpful lines in the hope of scoring points.
The full roster of candidates on Wednesday included New Jersey Sen Cory Booker, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Maryland Rep John Delaney, Hawaii Rep Tulsi Gabbard, Washington Gov Jay Inslee, Minnesota Sen Amy Klobuchar, former Texas Rep Beto O'Rourke, Ohio Rep Tim Ryan and Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren.
PUNDITS PICK WINNERS AND LOSERS
Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren and New Jersey Sen Cory Booker both had great nights on the stage in Miami, where each candidate was given 60 seconds to answer an array of questions about their policy goals.
Directly to Warren and Booker's left was a less successful Beto O'Rourke.
'He was the loser in several clashes with opponents, (Bill DeBlasio’s healthcare exchange comes to mind) and his language was not as inspiring as the others,' Frank Luntz tweeted. 'He also spent too much time buttoning his jacket.'
Another big winner on the debate stage was former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, who captivated the crowd with his frustrated response to the border crisis.
Warren had the highest polling numbers going into the first debate - coming in third behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders - and she proved why each time she leaned in to the microphone.
'She stayed on message all night, her answers generally connected, and she’ll probably climb five points in the polls over the next week,' analyst Bill Palmer wrote in his breakdown of the night.
Palmer and others agreed that Warren's best moment came when she was asked whether she had a plan to deal with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to which she replied: 'Yes I do.'
Pundits agree that Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren was one of the strongest candidates to take the stage at the first Democratic debate in Miami on Wednesday. The contender to her right, New Jersey Sen Cory Booker, also had a strong night, while the former Texas congressman to her left, Beto O'Rourke, struggled
Another high profile candidate who fared well Wednesday night was Booker. The senator from New Jersey took up more air time than any other candidate with a total of 11 minutes and six seconds, according to calculations by the New York Times.
'The senator from New Jersey won't be the big star coming out of Wednesday's debate, but he found a way to inject himself into most of the conversations during the night -- even those where he wasn't directly asked,' CNN Editor-at-Large Chris Cillizza wrote after the debate.
'Talking the most isn't always a sign of victory, but when you are someone like Booker who is just trying to get his name out there, it's a pretty good measure.
'One caveat: For all of that talking, is there a memorable line from Booker coming out of this debate? I don't think so.'
Cillizza determined that the most memorable performance of the night came from Castro.
The San Antonio mayor went head-to-head with O'Rourke on immigration in what was one of the most contentious exchanges of the night.
Cillizza called the exchange a 'battering' and said it was 'hard to watch (especially if you were related to O'Rourke), but a clear win for Castro'.
O'Rourke had the second largest amount of air time, The Times putting him right behind Booker with 10 minutes and 33 seconds, but he struggled to capitalize on that time.
He kicked off his first answer by delivering a line in Spanish that didn't quite resonate with viewers.
Many indicated that his answers felt overly-rehearsed and insincere.
'If one of O'Rourke's goals coming into this debate was to show he was more than a good-looking but sort of empty vessel, it, um, didn't work,' Cillizza remarked.
Experts were divided when it came to Amy Klobuchar's performance on the debate stage, with some listing her among the winners and others among the losers.
The senator from Minnesota snatched up a decent amount of air time but didn't have any particularly noteworthy moments as she delivered a few corny lines - including 'Uncle Dick in the deer blind' and 'All foam, no beer'.
Cillizza listed her among the losers and Palmer said she was a winner just based on the time she got to speak.
Bill de Blasio's most memorable moments from the night came as he was interrupting people, which wasn't a good look for the New York City mayor.
Hawaii Rep Tulsi Gabbard came out with the goal of convincing everyone once and for all that she no longer leans right, but pundits say she failed to do so.
She made multiple mentions of the fact that she served in Iraq, even when it wasn't particularly relevant to the prompt.
Falling toward the back of the pack were Ohio Rep Tim Ryan, former Maryland Rep John Delaney and Washington Gov Jay Inslee.
Ryan's most impactful moment came when he blasted the Trump administration for presiding over a longstanding but deteriorating system that houses children separately from the adults who bring them into the US.
'What kind of a country are we running here?' he asked, claiming that 'we've got kids literally laying in their own snot with three-week-old diapers that haven't been changed.'
Inslee's moment came when he received a question about climate change, the cornerstone of his campaign.
According to Palmer: 'Most viewers probably thought John Delaney was an audience member.'
Several pundits noted that the night's biggest winner may have been current front runner Biden, based on the lack of seriously standout performances on night one.
The former VP will be joining ten other candidates on stage tomorrow.
JAY INSLEE ATTACKS TRUMP
Long-shot 2020 candidate Jay Inslee said Wednesday night that the current president is the biggest security threat to the United States.
'The biggest threat to the security of the United States is Donald Trump,' an empowered Inslee said during the first night of the first Democratic primary debates of 2020.
Democratic 2020 hopeful Jay Inslee said President Donald Trump is the biggest security threat to America right now
Inslee's response received an enthusiastic response from the crowd of hundreds gathered in Miami for the two-night event.
Moderator, and NBC host, Chuck Todd, requested each of the 10 candidates that took the debate stage for the two-hour event issue a one or two word response on who or what currently poses the biggest geopolitical threat to the US.
Candidates gave a variety of answers, but the Washington governor was the only one that invoked the president by name.
Inslee regularly polls as one of the least popular candidates among likely Democratic primary voters – usually coming in dead last, or close to it.
In all national polls, and almost every regional one, he has come in with 1 per cent support or less.
Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, seemed to steer a slight toward the president with his response, but did not explicitly call out Trump.
'Russia,' he said is the biggest threat, 'because they're trying to undermine our democracy and they've been doing a pretty damned good job of it and we need to stop them.'
De Blasio, one of the most recent Democrats to announce his candidacy, also regularly falls in the bottom tier of the 25 candidates running to be the party's primary nomination in 2020.
Other answers included climate change, China, Iran and nuclear proliferation.
O'ROURKE CRITICIZED FOR EVADING QUESTIONS
O'Rourke dodged a question about a proposed top income rate of 70 percent at the Democratic debate in two languages.
O'Rourke fielded his first question of the debate on MSNBC when asked about the top income tax rate – a notion that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez floated for millionaires in an interview soon after she came to Congress, setting off a debate about taxation.
'This economy has got to work for everyone. And right now we know that it isn't. And it's going to take all of us coming together to make sure that it does,' O'Rourke said, reverting to his campaign boilerplate language.
Then he switched to Spanish.
'Necesitamos incluir cada persona en el exito de esta economia. Pero si queremos hacer eso necesitamos incluir a cada persona en nuestro democracia,' he said, as Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey looked on with a wide-eyed expression. 'Cada votante necesitamos la representation y cada voz necesitamos escuchar,' O'Rourke said.
Roughly translated, he was saying that we need to include each person in the success of this economy, but if we want to do that, we need to include each person in our democracy. O'Rourke had said we need the representation of each voter and we need to listen to each voice.
However, he made a few slip ups, at first having to correct himself to conjugate 'votante,' then mixing up word order a few times.
He also said 'nuestro democracia' when he should have said 'nuestra democracia' – for 'our democracy.'
'Right now we have a system that favors those who can pay for access and outcomes. That's how you can explain an economy that is rigged to corporations and to the very wealthiest,' O'Rourke continued, then switched to voting rights.
He talked about gerrymandering, same day voter registration, and a new Voting Rights Act.
Host Savannah Guthrie wasn't satisfied with his answer. 'That's time sir. I'll give you 10 seconds if you want to answer the direct question … yes no or pass,' she said.
O'Rourke responded with more specifics, but not an answer on the top marginal rate.
'I would support a tax rate and a tax code that is fair to everyone,' he said. 'Tax capital at the same rate that you tax ordinary income. Take that corporate tax rate up to 28 per cent,' he said, mentioning the corporate but not the individual rate.
Later Sen. Cory Booker also spoke in Spanish on the subject of immigration.
'La situation ahora es inacceptable,' he said, calling the situation unacceptable. He said the president had 'demonized' immigrants, speaking in Spanish.
He called for ending ICE and Border Patrol policies he said were violating human rights. 'When people come to this country they do not leave their human rights at the border,' Booker said.
WHO ARE THE 25 DEMOCRATS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020?
MICHAEL BENNET
Age on Inauguration Day 2021: 56
Entered race: May 2, 2019
Career: Currently Colorado senator. Educated at elite St. Albans preparatory school and was a Capitol Hill page before graduating Wesleyan and Yale Law School. Was law clerk and worked in Clinton's Department of Justice then moved to Colorado in 1997 as managing director of billionaire Philip Anschutz's investment company. Was chief of staff to Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, then superintendent of Denver Public schools. Appointed to vacant Colorado Senate seat in 2009, held it 48.1 to 46.4 in 2010 and 50 to 44.3 in 2016
Family: Married to environmental attorney Susan Daggett, with three daughters - Halina, Anne and Caroline. Was born in New Delhi while to diplomat father Douglas Bennet, who went onto be CEO of NPR and a Clinton assistant secretary of state. His grandfather, also Douglas, was an economic adviser to FDR. Mother Susanne is retired elementary school librarian. Brother James is editor of the New York Times opinion section
Religion: Says he was raised with Jewish and Christian heritage; no known adherence
Views on key issues: Moderate who does not endorse Medicare for all or - so far - Green New Deal. Strongly pro-choice and pro-gay rights, leading to 2010 Senate victory. Pro raising minimum wage. Wants citizenship pathway for 'dreamers.'
Would make history as: First Colorado president
JOE BIDEN
Age on Inauguration Day 2021: 78
Entered race: April 25, 2019
Career: No current role. A University of Delaware and Syracuse Law graduate, he was first elected to Newcastle City Council in 1969, then won upset election to Senate in 1972, aged 29. Was talked out of quitting before being sworn in when his wife and daughter died in a car crash and served total of six terms. Chaired Judiciary Committee's notorious Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. Ran for president in 1988, pulled out after plagiarism scandal, ran again in 2008, withdrew after placing fifth in the Iowa Caucuses. Tapped by Obama as his running mate and served two terms as vice president. Contemplated third run in 2016 but decided against it after his son died of brain cancer.
Family: Eldest of four siblings born to Joe Biden Sr. and Catherine Finnegan. First wife Neilia Hunter and their one-year-old daughter Naomi died in car crash which their two sons, Joseph 'Beau' and Robert Hunter survived. Married Jill Jacobs in 1976, with whom he has daughter Ashley. Beau died of brain cancer in 2015. Hunter's marriage to Kathleen Buhle, with whom he has three children, ended in 2016 when it emerged Hunter was in a relationship with Beau's widow Hallie, mother of their two children. Hunter admitted cocaine use; his estranged wife accused him of blowing their savings on drugs and prostitutes
Religion: Catholic
Views on key issues: Ultra-moderate who will emphasize bipartisan record. Will come under fire over record, having voted: to stop desegregation bussing in 1975; to overturn Roe v Wade in 1981; for now controversial 1994 Violent Crime Act; for 2003 Iraq War; and for banking deregulation. Says he is 'most progressive' Democrat. New positions include free college, tax reform, $15 minimum wage. No public position yet on Green New Deal and healthcare. Pro-gun control. Has already apologized to women who say he touched them inappropriately
Would make history as: Oldest person elected president
Slogan: Working for America
CORY BOOKER
Age on Inauguration Day: 51
Entered race: February 1, 2019
Career: Currently New Jersey senator. High school football star who went to Stanford or undergraduate and masters degrees before studying in Oxford as a Rhodes scholar and Yale Law School. Worked for advocacy and youth projects and successfully ran for Newark, New Jersey, city council in 1998. Narrowly lost mayoral election in 2002 facing claims he was 'suburban' and 'not black enough.' Ran again in 2006 and won landslide on radical reform platform for troubled city, including being tough on crime, cutting budget deficit, increasing affordable housing and tackling failing schools - controversially taking a huge donation from Mark Zuckerberg for the city. Ran for New Jersey senate seat in 2013 special election and won; won full term in 2014
Family: Unmarried but dating actress Rosario Dawson. Parents Cary and Carolyn were among IBM's first black executives. Brother Cary Jr. is education adviser to New Jersey's Democratic governor
Religion: Baptist
Views on key issues: Self-proclaimed liberal. Endorses abortion rights; affirmative action; single-payer health care; criminal justice reform; path to citizenship for 'dreamers; federal marijuana decriminalization; $15 minimum wage; but has also spoken against tech regulation and for long-term deficit reduction
Would make history as: First unmarried president since Grover Cleveland in 1886
Slogan: Together, America, We Will Rise
STEVE BULLOCK
Age on Inauguration Day: 54
Entered race: May 14, 2019
Career: Currently governor of Montana. Montana native educated at Claremont McKenna College, California, and Columbia Law who worked for Montana Democratic governor and Department of Justice before failed 2000 run for state attorney general. Practiced law then ran again in 2008 and won, using it to springboard to run for governor in 2012, winning 48.9 to 47.3, then winning second term in 2016 by 50.3 to 46.4 in a state which Trump won 56.2 to 35.7. Only Democratic governor to win re-election in a Trump state
Family: Married to Lisa Downs, who was a year behind him in high school. They have three children, Caroline, Alexandria and Cameron. His parents Michael, a teacher, and Margaret, a school board trustee, divorced when he was at grade school and he has one brother, Bill
Religion: Catholic
Views on key issues: Vocal moderate. Wants Democrats to expand reach beyond the coasts and cities. Not signed up to Green New Deal or Medicare for All. Warned Hillary Clinton against attacking coal mining in 2016. Says government has to afford taxation and spending commitments. Social liberal on abortion and gay marriage. Has shifted from gun control opponent to backing universal background checks and assault weapon ban
Would make history as: First Montanan president
Slogan: To be announced
PETE BUTTIGIEG
Age on Inauguration Day: 39
Entered race: Announced formation of exploratory committee January 23, 2019. Formally entered race April 14, 2019
Career: Currently mayor of Sound Bend, Indiana. Harvard grad and Rhodes scholar who got a second degree from Oxford before working as a McKinsey management consultant and being commissioned as a Navy Reserve intelligence officer. Elected South Bend mayor in 2011 and served in combat in 2013, won re-election in 2015
Family: Came out as gay during second mayoral run and married husband Chasten Glezman, a middle school teacher in 2018. Parents were University of Notre Dame academics. Surname is pronounced BOOT-edge-edge. Would be first combat veteran since George H.W. Bush
Religion: Raised as a Catholic, now Episcopalian
Views on key issues: Has said Democratic party needs a 'fresh start'; wrote an essay in praise of Bernie Sanders aged 17; backed paid parental leave for city employees; other policies unknown
Would make history as: First openly gay and youngest-ever president
Slogan: To be announced
JULIAN CASTRO
Age on Inauguration Day: 46
Entered race: January 12, 2018, at rally in his native San Antonio, TX. Had formed exploratory committee two months previously
Career: No current job. Stanford and Harvard graduate who was a San Antonio, Texas, councilman at 26 and became mayor of the city in 2009. Was Obama's Housing and Urban Development secretary from 2014 to 2016
Family: Married with nine-year-old daughter, Carina, and four-year-old son, Cristian. His identical twin Joaquin, who is a minute younger, is Democratic congressman. Mother Maria del Rosario Castro was part of 'radical' third party for Mexican-Americans; father left his wife and five children for her but they never married. Would be first Hispanic-American president - announced his run in English and Spanish - and first-ever U.S. president with a twin
Religion: Catholic
Views on key issues: Wants medicare for all; universal pre-K; action on affordable housing; will not take money from political action committees (PACs) tied to corporations or unions. Other views still to be announced
Would make history as: First Hispanic president, first to be a twin
Slogan: One Nation, One Destiny
BILL DE BLASIO
Age on Inauguration Day 2021: 59
Entered race: May 16, 2019
Career: Currently New York mayor. New York University and Columbia University graduate who became a 'political organizer' working in Nicaragua in support of the Sandanistas, then a volunteer for David Dinkins' campaign to be New York's first African American mayor. Bill Clinton appointee in HUD, then campaign manager of Hillary Clinton's 2000 New York Senate campaign, running for New York City Council seat the following year. Successfully ran for Public Advocate in 2009, winning high-profile city post, then used it as springboard into packed 2013 mayoral primary which also featured Anthony Weiner. Unexpectedly won Democratic field then landslide general election, repeating it in 2016, 66.5 to 27.8. Terms both hit by corruption investigations into lobbying by donors
Family: Born Warren Wilhelm Jr. to German-American war veteran father and Italian-American mother Maria de Blasio, who divorced when he was seven. Changed his name to Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm in 1983, then Bill de Blasio in December 2001. Married since 1991 to Chirlane McCray, seven years his senior and a political campaigner and poet who says she identified as a lesbian in the 1970s and 'met the love of my life, married him.' They have two children: daughter Chiara, who graduated Santa Clara University in 2016 and who has said she battled drink and drugs and mental illness; and son Dante, a Yale undergraduate
Religion: Raised without religion. Now says 'there is a Christian underpinning to a lot of what I believe.'
Views on key issues: Ultra-liberal. Trumpeted his plan for a New York Green New Deal in Trump Tower in show of support for ultra-progressive wing. Introduced universal pre-K in the city and pushed a wealth tax. Been hostile to charter schools and backed legalized marijuana. Spoken in favour of universal healthcare. Backs immigration reforms including path to citizenship for undocumented. Spoke against stop-and-frisk. Wider foreign policy and economic positions unknown
Would make history as: Tallest president at 6' 5', beating Abraham Lincoln by an inch
Slogan: To be announced
JOHN DELANEY
Age on Inauguration Day: 57
Entered race: Filed papers July 28, 2017
Career: No current job. Three-time Maryland congressman, first winning election in 2012. Previously set up publicly-traded companies lending capital to healthcare and mid-size businesses and was youngest CEO at the time of a New York Stock Exchange-listed firm
Family: Married father of four; wife April works for children's issues nonprofit
Religion: Catholic
Views on key issues: Social liberal in favor of legalized pot and gun control but not single-payer healthcare; fiscally conservative
Would make history as: First president from Marlyand. First openly bald president since Eisenhower
Slogan: Focus on the Future
TULSI GABBARD
Age on Inauguration Day: 39
Entered race: Still to formally file any papers but said she would run on January 11 2019
Career: Currently Hawaii congresswoman. Born on American Samoa, a territory. Raised largely in Hawaii, she co-founded an environmental non-profit with her father as a teenager and was elected to the State Legislature aged 21, its youngest member in history. Enlisted in the National Guard and served two tours, one in Iraq 2004-2006, then as an officer in Kuwait in 2009. Ran for Honolulu City Council in 2011, and House of Representatives in 2012
Family: Married to her second husband, Abraham Williams, a cinematographer since 2015. First marriage to childhood sweetheart Eduardo Tamayo in 2002 ended in 2006. Father Mike Gabbard is a Democratic Hawaii state senator, mother Carol Porter runs a non-profit.
Religion: Hindu
Views on key issues: Has apologized for anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage views; wants marijuana federally legalized; opposed to most U.S. foreign interventions; backs $15 minimum wage and universal health care; was the second elected Democrat to meet Trump after his 2016 victory
Would make history as: First female, Hindu and Samoan-American president; youngest president ever
Slogan: Lead with Love
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND
Age on Inauguration Day: 54
Entered race: Announced exploratory committee on Stephen Colbert's CBS show on January 16, 2019. Formal launch in front of Trump International Hotel and Tower, New York, March 24, 2019
Career: Currently New York senator. Dartmouth and UCLA law grad who was a high-flying Manhattan attorney representing big businesses. Says she was inspired to enter politics by hearing Hillary Clinton speak, although she is also scion of a prominent New York Democratic political family. Won New York's 20th district, centered on Albany in 2004; appointed to Hillary Clinton's senate seat in 2008 and won it in 2010 special election 63-35; won first full term 2012 and re-elected 67-33 in 2018
Family: Married to British venture capitalist Jonathan Gillibrand with two sons, Theodore, 15, and Henry, ten. Father Douglas Lutnik was Democratic lobbyist; grandmother Polly Noonan was at center of Albany Democratic politics
Religion: Catholic
Views on key issues: Initially pro-gun as Congresswoman, has since reversed herself to be pro-gun control and also pro-immigration; said Bill Clinton should have resigned over Monica Lewinsky and helped force Al Franken out of Senate over groping allegations; in favor of single-payer healthcare and Medicare for all
Would make history as: First female president
Slogan: Brave wins
MIKE GRAVEL
Age on Inauguration Day 2021: 90
Entered race: April 2, 2019, saying he was not running to win. In May said he wants to be on debate stage and force party to left
Career: No current role. Army intelligence officer who went to Columbia University on the G.I. Bill then moved to Alaska, where he became a Democratic activist and realtor, then a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1963 to 1967. Won Alaska senate race in 1968, became vocal anti-Vietnam campaigner. Failed run for vice president in 1972 but won two more terms as senator, losing in 1980. Returned to real estate, then politics in 1989 campaigning for 'direct democracy.' Ran for Democratic nomination in 2008 to push his causes but failed in polls and switched to the Libertarian Party, but lost bid to be their candidate. Later campaigned for causes including marijuana legalization but also spoke to Holocaust deniers and called for new 9/11 investigation. Was persuaded to run for 2020 by high school senior and college freshman who heard him on cult podcast Chapo Trap House
Family: Married to second wife Whitney. Two adult children – Martin, a sales executive and Lynne Mosier - both of whom have two children. Parents were French-Canadian immigrants to Massachusetts
Religion: Raised Catholic, now identifies as Unitarian
Views on key issues: Ultra-liberal. Wants abolition of capital punishment, decriminalization of all drugs, no-first use of nuclear weapons pledge, created a Department of Peace alongside Department of War, close all foreign bases and cut military spending by 50 per cent, abolish the electoral college and make senators' voting power proportional to population size
Would make history as: Oldest ever president
Slogan: To be announced
KAMALA HARRIS
Age on Inauguration Day: 56
Entered race: Announced she was running January 21, 2018 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - on Good Morning America. Formally entered race January 27
Career: Currently California senator. Howard and U.C. Hunter law school grad who worked as assistant district attorney in Alameda County, CA, then in San Francisco's DA's office before being elected San Francisco DA in 2003 and used it as springboard to run successfully for California attorney general in 2010. Won again in 2014 and was at center of U.S. attorney general and Supreme Court speculation but also endured a series of controversies, including over police brutality allegations. Ran for Senate in 2016 and established herself on liberal wing of party
Family: Born in Berkeley, CA, to immigrant Indian Tamil mother and Jamaican father who were both academics and brought up from seven to 18 in Montreal, Canada. Dated married San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, when he was 60 and she was 29. Married attorney Douglas Emhoff in 2014 and has two stepchildren; Cole, an aspiring actor, and Ella, an art and design student. Sister Maya was a Hillary Clinton adviser and brother-in-law Tony West is Uber's chief legal counsel
Views on key issues: Social ultra-liberal who has rejected criticisms of 'identity politics' and is running without a political action committee, which will make her reliant on small donors. Has shifted left on criminal justice reform; supports Medicare for all; pro-gun control and anti-death penalty; says illegal immigration is a civil not a criminal offense
Religion: Has said she was brought up in both Baptist and Hindu tradition
Would make history as: First female and first Indian-American president
Slogan: For The People
JOHN HICKENLOOPER
Age on Inauguration Day: 68
Entered race: March 4, 2019 with Good Morning America interview
Career: No current job. Wesleyan University-educated geologist who moved to Colorado to work in petroleum industry but was laid off and started Wynkoop Brewing Company, the first craft brewpub in 1988 in Denver's LoDo (lower downtown) area. Ran for mayor of Denver as an outsider in 2003 and won, then won a second term in 2007. Ran for Colorado governor in 2010 and won 51 per cent of the vote; his nearest rival took 36.5 per cent. Won re-election 49.3 to 46 in 2014, but was term limited and ended his second term in January 2019
Family: Married to second wife Robin Pringle, 40, a vice president at LibertyMedia Corp., owners of Sirius XM. Divorced first wife Helen Thorpe in 2012 after 10 years of marriage; ex-couple have son Teddy, a high school student. Born and brought up in Narbeth, in the Main Line of Philadelphia, his father's ancestors include Civil War Union general Andrew Hickenlooper
Religion: Quaker
Views on key issues: Voiced support for Green New Deal but has also been in favor of fracking; has not embraced single-payer healthcare but expanded Medicaid in Colorado; long record of being pro-gun control; pro-choice but has gone out of his way to talk about reducing unplanned teenage pregnancies ; opposed to the death penalty; advocated for gay marriage
Would make history as: First Colorado president
Slogan: To be announced
JAY INSLEE
Age on Inauguration Day: 69
Entered race: March 1, 2019
Career: Currently Washington governor. Stanford drop-out who graduated from University of Washington and Williamette University School of Law before working as a city prosecutor in Selah, WA. First elected to Washington House of Representatives in 1989 and again in 1990; won Congressional seat in 1992 elections but lost in 1994 and then had failed 1996 gubernatorial run. Returned to Congress in 1998 elections and stayed until 2012 to run for governor. Won first term 51.5 to 48.5; re-elected in 2016 by 54.4 to 45.6
Family: Born in Seattle to late parents Frank, a Navy veteran and high school teacher and coach, and Adele, a Sears sales clerk. Married high school and college sweetheart Trudi since 1972. Three adult sons Jack, a radio producer in Washington D.C.; Connor, director of a Washington state non-profit for the disabled; and Joe, who works for King County, WA's department of natural resources and parks. Grandfather of three
Religion: Non-denominational Protestant
Views on key issues: Running to combat climate change with praise for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal - his record in Washington D.C. including aspiring to 'zero emissions' buildings and largely eliminate fossil fuel use; vocal gun control advocate; fought Trump's ban on entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries; called moratorium on death penalty in Washington; supported marijuana legalization in Washington and expected to do so federally; will not take money from political action committees; healthcare position still unclear
Would make history as: First Washington state president
Slogan: Our moment
AMY KLOBUCHAR
Age on Inauguration Day: 60
Entered race: Announced candidacy February 10, 2019 at snow-drenched rally in her native Minneapolis
Career: Currently Minnesota senator. Yale and University of Chicago law graduate who became a corporate lawyer. First ran unsuccessfully for office in 1994 as Hennepin, MI, county attorney, and won same race in 1998, then in 2002, without opposition. Ran for Senate in 2006 and won 58-38; re-elected in 2012 and 2018
Family: Married to John Bessler, law professor at University of Baltimore and expert on capital punishment. Daughter Abigail Bessler, 23, works fora Democratic member of New York City council. Father Jim, 90, was a veteran newspaper columnist who has written a memoir of how his alcoholism hurt his family; mom Rose is a retired grade school teacher
Religion: Congregationalist (United Church of Christ)
Views on key issues: Seen as a mainstream liberal: says she wants 'universal health care' but has not spelled out how; pro-gun control; pro-choice; backs $15 minimum wage; no public statements on federal marijuana legalization; has backed pro-Israel law banning the 'boycott, divestment and sanctions' movement; spoke out against abolishing ICE
Would make history as: First female president
Slogan: To be announced
WAYNE MESSAM
Age on Inauguration day: 46
Entered race: Announced March 28, 2019, formal launch March 30, 2019
Career: Currently mayor of Miramar, Florida. Florida State University football star who played starting wide receiver, and graduated in 1997. Worked in construction industry as contractor and started his own company in 2007. Ran for City of Miramar Commission in 2011 and mayor in 2015, defeating 16-year Democratic incumbent and becoming first black mayor of the city. Won second term March 2019, days before announcing presidential bid
Family: Married to college sweetheart Angela Sands, 44, who is also his business partner. Three college-age children: son Wayne Jr. and twin daughters Kayla and Kyla. Fourth child and first American-born child of Jamaican immigrants Hubert , a sugar-cane cutter, and his wife Delsey, who are both deceased. Was president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials in 2018
Religion: Worships at the Fountain of New Life Church in Miami Gardens where he is a deacon
Views on key issues: Says he is staunch advocate of gun control. Wants action on climate change and is opposed to off-shore oil drilling. Opposes Trump immigration policies and proposed forcing immigration officials to get a warrant before entering city property. Yet to state position on health care and foreign policy
Would make history as: First Jamaican-American and first Florida president
Slogan: Your Champion
SETH MOULTON
Age on Inauguration Day: 42
Entered race: April 22, 2019
Career: Currently Massachusetts Congressman. Educated at elite Phillips Academy Andover - like both Bush presidents - and Harvard, he joined the Marines early in 2001. Was commissioned in 2002, then saw combat in invasion of Iraq and four total tours of duty, rising to captain and winning a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and a Bronze Star. Attended graduate school, worked for a high-speed rail project in Texas and ran against incumbent Democrat and then Republican in 2014 to take his hometown district of Marblehead, which he has held since. Would be only second sitting congressman elected president - first was James Garfield in 1880
Family: Married wife Liz Moulton, a divorcee, in 2017. Couple had a daughter, Emmy, in October 2018. Parents Tom and Lynn, a real estate attorney and a secretary, campaigned against Vietnam as students
Religion: United Church of Christ
Views on key issues: Democratic moderate who campaigned on opposition to Iraq War which he served in. Wants a Pacific NATO and radical change to military, with concentration on new technology. Pro-gun control. Healthcare views unclear. Announced support for Green New Deal. Has compared Trump's rise to Hitler's
Would make history as: Youngest ever president, beating Theodore Roosevelt by 234 days
Slogan: To be announced
BETO O'ROURKE
Age on Inauguration Day: 47
Entered race: March 14, 2019
Career: No current job. Born Robert Francis O'Rourke. Boarding-school educated Columbia grad who lived in a New York loft, playing in a punk band and doing desultory jobs and setting up an internet firm. Ran for El Paso city council in 2005, winning re-election and serving until 2012. Ran for Congress in 2012, defeating eight-term Democratic incumbent in primary. Gave up seat to run for Senate against Ted Cruz in 2018, losing 51-48
Family: Married to wife Amy Sanders, nine years his junior, with sons Ulysses and Henry, and daughter Molly. Father Pat was long-time El Paso politician who switched from Democrat to Republican; mom Melissa ran family-owned store in city until selling it after IRS probe. Melissa's stepfather Fred Korth was one of JFK's secretaries of the Navy. Father-in-law William Saunders is real estate developer estimated to be worth $500 million
Religion: Catholic
Views on key issues: Wants comprehensive immigration reform to give citizenship to 'dreamers' and a path to it for their parents, and vehemently opposes Trump's wall. Supports federal marijuana legalization. Pro-gun control including an assault rifle ban and universal background checks. Supports single-payer health care but with co-pays and has backed Medicaid expansion. Strongly pro-choice. Has hinted at backing breaking up tech giants. Said he would have voted for impeachment in Congress if he had had the chance
Would make history as: No clear claims
Slogan: To be announced
TIM RYAN
Age on Inauguration Day: 46
Entered race: April 4, 2019
Career: Currently Ohio congressman. High school football star who got a scholarship to Youngstown State, Ohio, but transferred to nearby Bowling Green University when his career ended in injury. Became a congressional aide, picked up a law degree, then served in the Ohio Senate and when his former House boss Jim Traficant went to prison for fraud ran for his seat in 2002 and won. Has held district - first Ohio 13th then the 17th when Youngstown was redistricted - since with little opposition since. Released book on meditation in 2012 and considered running against Nancy Pelosi for minority leader
Family: Married first grade schoolteacher Andrea Zetts in 2013. Couple had a son, Brady, the following year. Zetts has a daughter, Bella, and a son, Mason, from her first marriage who Ryan says he 'loves like his own.' Ryan's first marriage ended in divorce. He was brought up by his mom Rochelle after she and his father Allen divorced when he was seven
Religion: Catholic
Views on key issues: Moderate who backs Medicare for all. Flipped from anti-abortion to pro-choice in dramatic fashion in 2015. Does not appear to back the Green New Deal but suggests a carbon tax. Spoken up for capitalism but is also pro-union. Advocated for mindfulness teaching in classrooms. Also flipped on gun control from A rating by NRA to strong support of anti-gun measures
Would make history as: Only second sitting congressman elected president - first was James Garfield, also from Ohio, in 1880
Slogan: To be announced
BERNIE SANDERS
Age on Inauguration Day: 79
Entered race: Sources said on January 25, 2019, that he would form exploratory committee. Officially announced February 19
Career: Currently Vermont senator. Student civil rights and anti-Vietnam activist who moved to Vermont and worked as a carpenter and radical film-maker. Serial failed political candidate in the 1970s, he ran as a socialist for mayor of Burlington in 1980 and served two terms ending in 1989, and win a seat in Congress as an independent in 1990. Ran for Senate in 2006 elections as an independent with Democratic endorsement and won third term in 2018. Challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in 2016 but lost. Campaign has since been hit by allegations of sexual harassment - for which he has apologized - and criticized for its 'Bernie bro' culture
Family: Born to a Jewish immigrant father and the daughter of Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York. First marriage to college sweetheart Deboarah Shiling Messing in 1964 ended in divorce in 1966; had son Levi in 1969 with then girlfriend Susan Cambell Mott. Married Jone O'Meara in 1988 and considers her three children, all adults, his own. The couple have seven grandchildren. His older brother Larry is a former Green Party councilor in Oxfordshire, England. Would be first Jewish president
Religion: Secular Jewish
Views on key issues: Openly socialist and standard bearer for the Democratic party's left-turn. Wants federal $15 minimum wage; banks broken up; union membership encouraged; free college tuition; universal health care; re-distributive taxation; he opposed Iraq War and also U.S. leading the fight against ISIS and wants troops largely out of Afghanistan and the Middle East
Would make history as: Oldest person elected president
Slogan: Not me. Us.
JOE SESTAK
Age on Inauguration Day: 69
Entered race: June 23, 2019
Career: U.S. Naval Academy graduate who rose to three-star admiral with assignments including commanding the USS George Washington aircraft carrier battle group and Bill Clinton's National Security Council's director for defense policy but clashed with Donald Rumsfeld. Retired and ran as Democrat in Pennsylvania's 7th district 2006, won and held it until he ran for Pennsylvania's Senate seat in 2010, losing 51-49 with a margin of 80,229 votes. Ran again in 2016 but lost in primary
Family: Married to wife Susan Clark, a defense and environmental analyst he met on a trip to the then Soviet Union. Daughter Alexandra, born 2004, survived a brain tumor aged four but cancer returned this year. Father Joe Sr. was decorated Navy officer in World War II and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Religion: Catholic
Views on key issues: Wants $1 trillion public infrastructure plan; says there is a 'climate crisis' and wants green jobs; attacks China for 'intellectual property theft' but wants U.S. back in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trump pulled out of; wants Medicare to compete as a 'public option' rather than universal health care; also wants back into Iran deal and Paris accord
Would make history as: First veteran president since George H.W. Bush
Slogan: Accountability to America
ERIC SWALWELL
Age on Inauguration Day: 39
Entered race: Announced on the Stephen Colbert Show, April 8, 2019
Career: College soccer scholar whose sporting career was ended by injury who was a Capitol Hill intern in the building on 9/11. University of Maryland law graduate, served as a prosecutor in Alameda County, CA – where Kamala Harris worked in earlier years. He was elected to Dublin City Council, CA, in 2010 and ran for Congress in California's 15th District the following year, unseating 20-seat Democrat incumbent through California's 'top-two' system. Number 6 on The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful List in 2014. Won fourth term 73-27 in 2018. Would be only second sitting congressman elected president - first was James Garfield in 1880
Family: Married second wife Brittany Ann Watts, a Ritz-Carlton sales director in 2016, and has a son Nelson and daughter Kathryn. First marriage to Melissa Maranda ended in divorce. Born in Iowa where his father was a police chief who was fired for being too hardline, and brought up in California where the family moved in search of work
Religion: Christian
Views on key issues: Socially-ultra liberal. Has called for mandatory buyback of 'military-style semi-automatic assault weapons' and other gun control measures. Supportive of the green new deal but with new jobs guarantee for fossil fuel workers. Wants 'health-care guarantee' rather than Medicare for all. Aggressive voice for investigation of Trump
Would make history as: Youngest president ever
Slogan: Go big. Be bold. Do good.
ELIZABETH WARREN
Age on Inauguration Day: 71
Entered race: Set up exploratory committee December 31, 2018
Career: Currently Massachusetts senator. Law lecturer and academic who became an expert on bankruptcy law and tenured Harvard professor. Ran for Senate and won in 2012, defeating sitting Republican Scott Brown, held it in 2018 60% to 36%. Was short-listed to be Hillary's running mate and campaigned hard for her in 2016
Family: Twice-married mother of two and grandmother of three. First husband and father of her children was her high-school sweetheart. Second husband Bruce Mann is Harvard law professor. Daughter Amelia Tyagi and son Alex Warren have both been involved in her campaigns. Has controversially claimed Native American roots; DNA test suggested she is as little as 1,064th Native American
Religion: Raised Methodist, now described as Christian with no fixed church
Views on key issues: Was a registered Republican who voted for the party but registered as a Democrat in 1996. Pro: higher taxes on rich; banking regulation; Dream Act path to citizenship for 'dreamers'; abortion and gay rights; campaign finance restrictions; and expansion of public provision of healthcare - although still to spell out exactly how that would happen. Against: U.S. presence in Afghanistan and Syria; liberalization of gambling
Would make history as: First female president
Slogan: To be announced
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
Age on Inauguration Day: 68
Entered race: Announced exploratory committee November 15, 2018. Formally entered January 28, 2019
Career: Currently an author, Dropped out of Pomona College, California, became part of the counter culture and anti-war movement and ran a 'metaphysical bookstore' before publishing spiritual guide A Return to Love and being praised by Oprah, sending it to number one. Published series of follow-ups and founded AIDS charity and subsequently more non-profits including a peace movement. Ran for Congress in 2014 and lost
Family: Born to immigration attorney father Sam and housewife mother Sophie in Houston, Texas. Married for 'a minute and a half' to unnamed man; daughter India was born in 1990 but Williamson declines to name her father
Religion: Jewish
Views on key issues: Wants vast expansion of physical and mental healthcare; and nutrition and lifestyle reforms including ban on marketing processed and sugary foods to children; universal pre-K; much of the Green New Deal's proposals including a de-carbonized economy, electric cars and rebuilding mass transit; gun control through licensing; wants more vacation time; pro decriminalizing all drugs
Would make history as: First female president
Slogan: Join the Evolution
ANDREW YANG
Age on Inauguration Day: 46
Entered race: Filed papers November 6, 2018
Career: No current job. Started a dotcom flop then become healthcare and education tech executive who set up nonprofit Venture for America
Family: Married father of two. His parents were both immigrants from Taiwan who met at the University of California, Berkeley, as grad students
Religion: Reformed Church
Views on key issues: Warns of rise of robots and artificial intelligence, wants $1,000 a month universal basic income and social media regulated. Spoke out against male circumcision. Wants a state monitor to crack down on 'fake news.'
Would make history as: First Asian-American president
Slogan: Humanity First
AND THOSE WHO'VE ALREADY WITHDRAWN
RICHARD OJEDA. West Virginia ex- state senator and paratrooper veteran
Entered race: November 12, 2018. Quit: January 25, 2019
NBC should have put English subtitles on the scree...
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